William Jenkin

VIEW MEMORIAL PHOTO TRIBUTE William C.Jenkin Pioneer in Nickel Chemical Vapor Deposition August 13 1913 to May 22 2007   May 22 2007 was the first evening since August of 1913 that the sun set on a world without William C.  Jenkin.  After a remarkable life of nearly 94 years Bill succumbed to respiratory failure in the arms of his sister's daughter Milian France at Akron General Hospital.     Bill fell in love with chemistry as a boy believing a saying he kept throughout his life that 'He who knows chemistry can unlock the secrets of the Universe.'  Bill's father was Arthur Crispin Jenkin a builder who built three houses next to each other in East Cleveland to house the family.  In spite of being hard hit by the depression Bill won a scholarship and attended Oberlin College as a chemistry major (class of 1935). Within one week back in 1945 Bill had a birthday won an airplane and married a former ballerina from Chicago named Virginia Brown.    With Virginia he had two sons Crispin Lee Jenkin now residing in Dunedin Florida father of son Alex a horticulturist.  Bill's second son is Alan Brenton Jenkin now an aerospace physicist in Palos Verdes California and father of two daughters Camila and Aiyana.   Bill is also survived by the children of his brother Ralph W. Jenkin and his sister Frances (Jenkin) (Safken) Gutman who lived in Albuquerque New Mexico.  Ralph and his wife Molly had two daughters Nancy Jenkin (Rote) and Carol Jenkin (Miragliotta).  Frances had three daughters:  Milian France Kit Safken and Laura Gutman and one son Steve Safken.    Garnering 17 U.S. Patents during his life Bill Jenkin remained passionately in love with chemistry and pioneered the fields of Nickel and Aluminum Chemical Vapor Deposition.  He was also fortunate man never had a setback was never downsized evicted or unemployed.  And until the last few months of his life he never had serious pain for which he was thankful.    His first job right out of Oberlin put him immediately on the road to success.  Though young he quickly became Chief Chemist in charge of a manufacturing quality control lab of 12 technicians and chemists at Thompson Products of Cleveland Ohio.   When asked Bill said his special talent seemed to be the ability to come up with something completely new that no one else had ever thought of in the middle of the night alone in a lab.  His only lament was to have spent 'so many hours'  away from home and regretted the time it took from his family.   In the hospital and rehabs his biggest wish was to come home.   In 1946 Bill formed and sold Midwest Precision Casting to develop and successfully employ the precision investment process.   In 1958 he joined Commonwealth Engineering an Ohio contract R&D firm as Project Manager of research primarily in nickel CVD.    In 1968 Bill formed and managed the PYROLYTIC DIVISION of Akron Standard Mold to develop nickel CVD into an industrial technology for use in low pressure molding of plastics.  This new division was formed to develop nickel CVD into an industrial technology to make nickel shells 1/8' thick by chemical vapor deposition for use in low pressure molding of plastics.  By 1972 nickel shells weighing up to 100 lbs and as long as 14 feet had been made.  This operation was sold to a Pittsburgh Company in 1972 and Bill went with it as manager until he set up his own lab in 1977.   During the 1980's Bill conducted extensive research in advanced materials applications using CVD.  In 1989 he contracted to do nickel CVD research for INCO in a search for industrial applications.  Bill Jenkin's technology led to formation of two manufacturing operations in Wales UK.  In 1993 Bill set up and operated his own laboratory on Summit Street in Akron to continue contract research in nickel CVD.  He operated this lab full time until 2001.  Since then he had continued consulting and technical activities in CVD.   As late as the Friday before his death Bill worked as a consultant and partner with George Hansen of Metal Matrix Composites in Utah developing his patented nanostrand or nanofiber technology and had been a partner Galactic Mining Industries to develop the carbonyl manufacturing process for mining and steel production of parts and habitats for lunar colonization.   Bill was a bridge player a cut-throat chess player and a killer at Chinese Checkers Upwords and Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly.  He took a correspondence course as a young man and became a beautiful pianist.  His favorites were the classics particularly Tchaikovsky's Fifth Stravinsky and Gershwin.  He had a definite sweet spot for jazz and ragtime and would launch into 'The Entertainer' from memory with every piano he met.   While in Dayton Bill was quite active in Junior Achievement.  In Akron Bill became a long standing and active member of American Society of Materials The Akron Physics Club The Cleveland Astronomical Society and the Franklin Club and was a former officer of The American Chemical Society.   Bill many many people loved and admired you -- you will be missed.     List of United States Patents              by William C. Jenkin        Nickel Carbonyl CVD     U.S. Patent 3 070 469 December 25 1962 William C. Jenkin Method of Encapsulation of Lithium Borohydride Class 149-5 Commonwealth Engineering Company   U.S. Patent 3 086 881 April 23 1963 William C. Jenkin Method for Securing Adhesion of Gas Plating Class 117-50 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 158 499 November 24 1964 William C. Jenkin   Method of Depositing Metal Coatings in holes tubes crack fissures & the like Class 117-107.2 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 160 517 December 8 1964 William C. Jenkin Method of depositing metals & metallic compounds through-out the pores of porous body Class 117-93.3 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 167 831 February 2 1965 William C. Jenkin Gas Plated Metal Shell Molds & Patterns Class 22-136 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 176 356 April 6 1965 William C. Jenkin Method & Apparatus for Obtaining the Release of Gas Plated Deposits from Substrate Surfaces Class 22-57.3 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 196 003 July 20 1965 William C. Jenkin Process for Making Metal Strips & Sheets from Waste Metal Class 75-62 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 213 827 October 26 1965 William C. Jenkin Apparatus for Gas Plating Bulk Material to Metallize the Same Class 118-49.5 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 219 482 November 23 1965 William C. Jenkin Method of Gas Plating Adherent Coatings on Silicon Class 117-213 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 355 318 November 28 1967 William C. Jenkin Gas Plating Metal Deposits Comprising Boron 117-107.2 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 466 229 September 9 1969 William C. Jenkin Metallizing Plastics by Gas Plating (John R. Whitacre & W.C. Jenkin) Class 204-30 Union Carbide   U.S. Patent 3 554 880 January 12 1971 William C. Jenkin Process for Electroplating Polyoxymethylene Resins Class 204-30 Dupont   U.S. Patent 4 187 200 February 5 1980 William C. Jenkin Method of Making a Supported Catalyst   U.S. Patent 4 606 941 August 19 1986 William C. Jenkin Deposition Metallizing Bulk Material by Chemical Vapor   U.S. Patent 4 938 999 July 3 1990 William C. Jenkin Process for Coating a Metal Substrate by Chemical Vapor Deposition using a Metal Carbonyl   U.S. Patent 5 008 160 April 16 1991 William C. Jenkin Method of Securing Adherent Coatings by CVD from Metal Carbonyls and Articles Thus Obtained   U.S. Patent 5 130 204 July 14 1992 William C. Jenkin Randomly Dispersed Metal Fiber Mat